A Rush of Blood
by haddiecake
Summary: This story begins as a retelling/reshaping of the events of Seasons 1-3 of Bates Motel, focusing on the interactions and internal thoughts of Alex Romero and Norma Bates that will span the length of their relationship. Feelings between the two will be implied earlier on than within the original series.


This story begins as a retelling/reshaping of the events of Seasons 1-3 of Bates Motel, focusing on the interactions and internal thoughts of Alex Romero and Norma Bates that will span the length of their relationship. These internal thoughts are totally implied and I am reworking the scenes so that Romero falls for Norma early on in the series. Some other changes may occur, but they will be minimal. The titles of each chapter are set to the song 'A Rush of Blood' by Coasts, which reminds me of them and gave me an outline for this story.

A cop car pulls smoothly into the parking lot of the newly instated Bates Motel, the sound of the pebbles crushing against each other causes Norma Bates' heart to sputter in panic. A panic, she realizes, that would quickly need to buried. Two male officers step outside of the vehicle and begin to look around. An air of suspicion hangs around them. Norma notices the older gentleman glancing quickly, but notedly towards the rolled up carpeting that she and her son, Norman, had just been ripping up. A carpet that held a heavy and nasty secret.

Something about the man instantly gave Norma a feeling of being on edge. He was the type of man to always be in control. Something that Norma herself struggled with. It was funny how someone could take notice of a common trait in someone else so quickly. It was if she automatically geared herself up for a power struggle. The dark lines of his face let her know that he was not one to be played.

The other officer was quite the opposite. He had a youthful look about him that suggested he would be easier to manipulate if need be. The younger man introduces himself as Deputy Zack Shelby and the second cop as Sheriff Alex Romero. Romero nods in response. He is not here for pleasantries, or on a goodwill mission of welcoming the newcomers to town. He gave Norma an unsettling feeling in her stomach that she was not unaccustomed to. How could he possibly be suspicious of something already. Had they been watching the motel? Images of carrying Keith's dead body into the hotel room flash quickly through Norma's mind but her face shows no sign of unease. She wears a mask of poise and speaks with a subtle, yet well practiced, charm.

Romero states that the duo had noticed lights on and they were unaware of anyone moving into the hotel, which had been vacant for some time. This struck Norma as odd considering the place had gone under a foreclosure with the bank in such a small town. The previous owner of the property must have been escorted off the premises by the authorities...a previous owner who was now lying dead in the bathtub directly behind the group. Normally news that had drama attached to it spread quickly but Norma fought to look past this. There was no need to ask any questions. The more questions she asked, the more they would ask.

Norma cheerfully expressed what she hoped was gratitude towards the officers and quickly told a fabricated story of how she and her son were simply working on much needed renovations to the motel's rooms. She felt at ease with the fib, as there was a layer of truth to it. The place was a little worn; they wouldn't suspect a thing.

"You have a son?" Romero asks in a flat voice. Norma doesn't know it but Romero covers up a quick flutter of disappointment as he pictures a doting husband nearby. She tells of her sixteen year old boy Norman, which he promptly pokes fun at, causing her bite back that boys take their father's name all the time. She brushes past his questioning of why they are working so late. Something electric is the air and he can sense it. He isn't the type to fall for someone at a quick glance, even a beautiful blonde with piercing blue eyes. He lies to himself that he is noticing her appearances, her general appearance facts, for work purposes; not because something about her throws him off. Nothing throws him off. Ever.

Norma's breath hangs uncomfortably in her throat as she turns to walk away from the officers, claiming that she would close up shop for the night. Every fiber of her being hoped they would leave then. She could feel herself tittering towards a sense of total loss of control and it made her feel sick to her stomach. With her face turned from them, she allows the terror caught up inside of her to blast across her face. She counts the seconds as she walks away, as if she can count to ten and everything will end.

"Mrs. Bates?" she can hear Romero ask.

That's the cruel thing about life, Norma thinks, you can count to ten all you want but life is not a game of hide and seek. When your ten seconds are up, the next round begins. A constant rotation of never being on stable ground. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt entirely complacent. She was never destined towards an easy pathway. A smile quickly replaces her worry as she turns back around.

Romero asks to take a look inside. He walks into room four of the hotel and is introduced to the woman's son. A son who seems abnormally skittish at their presence. Abnormal Norman, Romero almost smiles to himself, would be easy enough to remember. Romero finds himself nearly studying the boy, but quickly tries to draw his attention elsewhere. If something was going on he did not want to cause the boy to put up too much of a front too quickly. He scans the room as he speaks to Norma. She mentions her late husband. So there was a husband. A husband who was negated from the picture. He wondered why.

He states that he is sorry for the loss of her husband but his stiff words combined with his facial expression shows otherwise. It passes without too much notice however, as he always has an air of authority in his words. There was rarely a hint of sympathy or emotion in what he said. He dealt day in and day out with shady low life people and thus his brain had rewired to view everyone as a potential criminal, rather than as complex human beings with pasts and stories of their own. He usually only saw one side of the people he dealt with, a side that was grimy and unpleasant, and this was the lens in which he chose to see the world.

The room was buzzed with awkward tension but Romero was not quite ready to leave so he asked to use the bathroom. He was beginning to let his suspicions slide and accept the fact that nothing too seedy was going on until Norma began making excuses about how the toilets were not functioning properly. He takes note of the fact that Norma tensed up when he mentioned Keith Summers and how he had previously told Keith that he needed to do some upkeep to the rooms. He takes his time in the washroom before rejoining the group as he gets a call on his monitor from dispatch. He and Shelby return to their vehicle to take the call but he finds himself glancing back to the boy and his mother who were both standing ever so still in the room.

As Romero started the engine and drove onto the paved road, he could almost feel their presence clawing their way into his skin. The motel disappeared from his line of vision but the feeling Norma Bates gave him was engraving itself in his every pore. A feeling that was hard to pinpoint. It was an overpowering urge, but whether it was an urge of duty, his instincts telling him that something was truly wrong in the hotel room, or a lust to figure the odd woman out, he did not know. What he did know for a fact was that he would be dealing with that family again.


End file.
